Paris Olympic Champion Darja Varfolomeev dominated the Rio de Janeiro World Championships once again--leading Germany to the team title, securing the individual all-around gold, and claiming three of four apparatus finals. Italy's Sofia Raffaeli was the only competitor able to surpass her, taking gold in the hoop final.
Born in Barnaul, Russia, Varfolomeev trains under former Olympic silver medalist Yulia Raskina from Belarus. (Ironically, neither of these countries can currently participate in World Championships.) This marks her second consecutive dominant performance at Worlds--at the 2023 Valencia World Championships, Germany captured all individual gold medals including the all-around and four apparatus events, with only the team title going to Bulgaria.
Who could challenge her?
At both 2023 and 2025 World Championships, Italy's Sofia Raffaeli and Bulgaria's Stiliana Nikolova emerged as Varfolomeev's main competitors. While they try match her high difficulty scores, they haven't achieved her level of consistency. In the World Championship all-around competition, Nikolova faltered in her hoop routine, while Raffaeli's clubs routine still shows room for improvement.
Ukraine's young talent Taisiia Onofriichuk also stands among the contenders. Ukrainian gymnasts typically face a consistent dilemma: increasing difficulty often compromises their consistency, while maintaining steady performances may not provide enough technical difficulty to compete for gold. Despite this, Ukrainian gymnasts consistently deliver captivating performances. Taisiia's Mary Poppins ribbon routine has arguably become the most recognized routine outside the rhythmic gymnastics community this year.
Another promising challenger is Varfolomeev's German teammate Anastasia Simakova, also of Russian origin (born in Omsk). Previously trained by legendary Russian coach Vera Shtelbaums--who developed rhythmic gymnastics GOAT Evgeniya Kanaeva--Simakova's routines feature the distinctive Omsk style: creative and fluid apparatus handling, clean body difficulties, and exceptional musical interpretation. At 21, she still has time to develop greater consistency.
However, the current reality remains clear: if Varfolomeev continues to deliver four perfect routines in key moments as she did at these World Championships, her position at the top seems virtually unassailable.